An defence minister has confirmed that the MoD is currently examining the potential security risks associated with Chinese vehicles, while staff have been advised to avoid discussing classified information in any vehicles.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
In a recently aired appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to discuss secret information while riding in China-made cars.
The minister explained that the ministry is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but noted that security is a issue in all contemporary cars.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their car, not to have conversations at a classified level in any kind of vehicle, due to the increasing threats of surveillance that are present in all automobile, to only have those secret talks in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about security.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using every cars from China, the minister responded: That is precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Defence Background
The revelation comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could enable China to switch off buses and cause disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia intelligence vessel was reportedly shining lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
The wider security situation highlights the importance of robust protocols and vigilance in all areas of government operations, including transport use to communication practices.
